Proxy
by Ghetto fabulous
Summary: Amongst a tormented upbringing, an overprotective mother, and in Kai's opinion, a corrupted school, a small light seeps through. An incidental light that just might be the answer to all his problems...and spawn a friendship? R&R!
1. Perfect Beginnings

Title: Proxy

Author: Ghetto fabulous

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblades, it belongs to…somebody but that person isn't me.

Chapter: 1

**

* * *

Perfect Beginnings**

"Mommy!"

The little girl watched in horror as the lego building in front of her shattered back into miniature pieces and collapsed onto her 'dead' toy soldier. She ran out of the room, tears rolling like waterfalls, leaving hertwin sisterstanding in front of the mess. She approached the victor, face creasing into a dark smile.

"You know, she's gonna tell on you and you'll be in huge trouble!" She giggled, also exiting the room.

Kai grumbled before standing up and drowsily made his to his bed, plopping himself onto the bouncy surface. It wasn't fair; he'd get grounded again for beating his twin-sisters in but another game with lego blocks and buildings. He couldn't convince his mom otherwise because she would be already positive that it was his fault. She had reason to…it normally was.

Sighing, he reached his arm to the side, touching his desk until his fingers drummed against the familiar, bumpy texture and he grabbed it with his palm. Smirking, he raised the basketball above him in view; glad that it was one of the few things he knew wouldn't leave him in a huge mess. Slipping beneath it, he made sure his fingers and thumbs were in a triangle formation over his head before bending his elbows and pushing them forward. He threw and caught the ball in the same manner repeatedly until the loud knocking on his door distracted him.

Catching the ball, he dropped it beside him and marched over to his door and swung it open. Finding himself face-to-face with his little sister, she grinned evilly. Faster than he could question such a gesture, Christine drew out a squirt gun and pulled the trigger two or three times, drenching Kai's face completely.

Keeping still to see what would be his first reflex, the mischievous little toddler kept a straight face, trying to imitate his completely emotionless one. First breathing slowly, his eyes remained closed, his insides flaring.

"_Come here, you little mongoose_!"He yelled, chasing her down the stairs.

She screamed and giggled, keeping a fast pace. Finally grabbing hold of her miniscule frame, he wrestled her onto the ground as they broke out into fits of giggles. Finally surrendering to her tickling attack, he rolled over onto the kitchen floor…directly in front of his mother.

"Kai, what the- get off the floor, you're going to be late!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Yes ma'am. I suppose you're going to lecture me now?" his mother arched a perfectly curved eyebrow.

"Now what are you rambling about, pack your bag and go to school," She tugged at her sleeved and looked at her watch. "It's time to go!" Kai rolled his eyes, knowing this wasn't exactly rare.

Bidding his mother and twin sisters farewell, he pulled on a large black T-shirt that had "sk8boardz 4 life" sprawled across the front. He hopped down the seven-step staircase, skedaddled onto the front porch and leapt, landing on his skateboard in perfect position. As the wheels rolled forward, he crouched down and slipped on his headset, making sure he was listening to an alternative radio station.

"And don't think I don't know what happened today!" She called out after him but he couldn't hear her.

* * *

As the head-banging melody raced through his ears, he was swept away and just barely missed crashing into innocent pedestrians. Bit by bit, a large structure appeared before him. He pumped his fist in the air, realizing he was six minutes and forty-three seconds early. This was the perfect way to begin a Monday morning. Nothing could go wrong. 

Approaching the steps, he hopped off his board and flipped it with his foot. He looked from side to side and smiled, knowing that for once, there was no janitor about to close the doors. He had no begging to do today…he was going to make it through without getting into trouble if it was the last thing he did. After all, messing up on the first day back from suspension (for quite literally tossing a certain blondie into the trash bin) would be breaking the promise he made to the principal…and his mum. It surprised him to think he cared but the last thing he needed was a failed grade.

While walking visibly slower in the hallway, he checked through his schedule. Today, his first class was history, right after homeroom. 'Brilliant', he thought 'I have a feeling I won't be able to keep my sanity for long'. He forced a smile and slowly walked into homeroom. The only people in class were Tala and Kenny. Great, the class charmer/backstabber/quick tongue and the know-it-all. If he had made it at the same time as them, he must really be getting somewhere.

The brunette stared (which would be hard to notice since he had no eyes) at Kai skeptically, while cocking his head to the side. Resting his laptop off his lap and onto his desk, he stifled a chortle.

"You, Kai Hiwatari, here now? Will wonders never cease?" Tala snickered.

"You've got a lot of nerve, Hiwatari." Kai shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey, Tate was asking for it. He was wearing those annoying neon colors and walked by me down the hall. He knows how I feel about neon. He was also wearing that goofy grin. It was tempting." Tala scratched his head.

"Hey, got no problem with that. Max is a complete wuss."

"So now I promised I'd come to school early. It wasn't easy." The red-head's long eyelashes fluttered as he pointed to his shirt.

"I can tell; your T is on inside-out."

Kai averted his view to the backwards message his shirt gave and pulled it off, frustrated. While flipping its sleeves through all the way, the sound of flip-flops tapping at the door stopped him. Shoes never sounded like that.

"I knew it was weird here, but nobody told me that the Japanese teens walked around without a shirt."

The three steered their attention towards the unknown figure standing before them. He obviously wasn't from here. His long, ivory mane was in a ponytail that almost touched the floor. His bangs limply hung over his ying-yang headband that went with the rest of his traditional Chinese outfit. The boy's shoes looked more like slippers and his eyes folded into cat-like slits, with a complexion based on sun-kissed skin. There was only one possible explanation: an exchange student.

That was strange, normally; they never had exchange students without prior information. He didn't even have a knapsack! Maybe it was some sort of mistake. He must have been in the wrong class.

"Um, excuse me," Kenny adjusted the glasses on his forehead. "I think you're in the wrong-"

"Is this room 201?'

"…Yes, it is." Kai blinked, his voice was cool and unaccented.

"And who exactly are you?" The Chinese boy folded his arms across his chest.

"Kon Rei, Rei Kon, however you say it here."

Narrowing his eyes, he found it difficult to escape the fierce garnet gaze radiating from Kai's eyes. His glare was so intense; he could almost feel it emit heat all around them. As for Tala, Rei had never seen such a combination of bright orange-red hair, completed with clear crystal blue eyes, the likes of which you'd never seen. The rest of his face was hidden under the collar of his white vest. And Kenny…he just looked like your typical eyeless computer nerd, sweater vest and all.

For a while, it remained completely silent. Rei began to think he would never find anyone nearly like himself, and also felt really small under the extreme intimidation being made by Kai. Just as he was musing over the rest of the class, the bell sounding struck him out of his thoughts.

Slowly, the classroom was filling up with more and more students yet he was struggling to find a place to sit. The teacher quickly entered the class moments after. Shuffling sheets of paper onto her desk, her eyes ran across the faces of the students to see who was absent or tardy but stopped at the unrecognizable features.

Rei found she looked quite peculiar. Her eyes were dull and narrow and her nose was perked up slightly. She wore a blue suit with a matching skirt that went to her knees and her blond hair stopped just past her shoulders.

"Good morning class." Rei stood still.

"Good morning, Mrs. Doyle!" They all replied after her in a monotone voice. She fixated her glare onto Rei, her maroon orbs not quite successfully piercing through him as Kai's did.

"I see our exchange student arrived a few days early…no matter, let us all greet our new friend, Rei Kon with a warm, Japanese welcome and make him feel like a special addition to the class!" Various greetings were chanted around the room.

"Now, Rei here has come all the way from his home in the mountains of China to be with us so I suggest you give him no trouble. Rei, you may take a spot in the empty desk near Tala." She motioned with her hand towards the space between Tala and another student.

"Since it is his first day here, perhaps one of you should show him around the school and get him acquainted with other classmates?"

Nearly the entire class had raised their arm, some waving it around impatiently but Kai had kept it down, he wanted nothing to do with the neko-jin and as much as he had promised he would do better in school, sucking up and asking for burdens wasn't the way he had intended to do so. Holding her chin with her fingers as if to look thoughtful, she made her decision.

"Kai. You haven't participated in much lately; this will be the perfect opportunity to socialize and make a new friend." A few students chuckled. "What do you say?"

"Sure..." Came his grumbled response. Normally, Doyle would chastise him for such an unenthusiastic reply but she was hoping on making a good impression on Rei.

"Wonderful!" She clasped her hands together, fingers intertwined. "When the bell rings you will show our new friend here to his locker, his classes and the washrooms. Agreed?"

"Whatever…" Mrs. Doyle was running out of tolerance, so she decided to move on to today's schedule.

"It is now 8:45, so you may all make your way to your Monday classes. Rei, I have your sheet right here."

Everyone moved out of their desks, grabbed whatever they needed and headed for the door. The obvious friends were paired or in groups, Kai usually with Tala and Kenny, but now he had to show the new Chinese boy everything everywhere and had a day to do so. This was going to be chaos.

* * *

Grabbing the piece of paper, he looked at Rei who was apparently waiting for him and then back at the mini-calendar that indicated that they both had a few classes together, history being one of them. 

"Okay…" Kai tried his hardest to be almost…sort of…kind of…partially nice. "So, um, follow me and I'll, er, show you were your first class is." The neko-jin stood up and accompanied him out the door, caught in undertow.

They marched down the hallway in utter silence, Kai being anxious to get it over with and Rei curious to figure out when they would reach anything.

"And…the first washroom is right beside biology where-"

"If it really makes you that uncomfortable, you could stop talking altogether…I can clearly see the restroom with my own eyes."

"You have no idea…"

"And just incase you were wondering, you are making yourself look stupid."

"Just shut up, okay?"

Okay, promise or no promise, this kid was getting on his nerves and if this kept going on, he'd have more than a missed class to worry about.

Rei let his eyes travel to the ceiling. Everything here was so advanced…so convenient. Half the time back at his old school he had to think over problems like whether or not the roof would fall in, or they would receive new, up-to-date books and even mountain lions. People from his village would rely on the older, wiser children to help out with things people here would get hired to do and the elders would expect tasks from them to gain a good reputation. Right now, he was caught thinking about how difficult his departure was, and even worse...how he had to tell everyone he was accepted into a high school in Japan. That there was probably considered a little kid's dream, and to teens of his age…an honor. It wasn't easy to find someone who appreciated things like that here, especially when there were punks like Kai keeping him company. He hated punks.

"Anyways…your locker is right here and here's your combo." Kai's deep voice distracted him from his thoughts. He yanked the tiny slip of paper out of his hand and twisted and turned the dial to match his combination. Once it clicked open, he shoved his books inside and waited for Kai to be done with his own.

"Okay, now take out your history things so we can spend the rest of our seven minutes getting to class." At least he could tell the time. His voice switched from bored teacher to bored student. Rei shot him a sideways glance and noticed Kai was putting no enthusiasm whatsoever in his speech. He was more occupied fiddling with his necklace.

They continued their little adventure down the hall, both no longer looking forward to the rest of today, in complete silence. It didn't bother Kai at all that his instructions were boring his so-called companion to death, anything that could give him the right to say he did nothing wrong was enough.

"So our class is in room 306, which is upstairs. If you could just- Rei? Rei?"

The slate-haired gazed teen out into the distance and watched Rei stalk away, fists clenched. They had seven whole minutes and he was being a waste of time. They were even going the wrong way!

Kai shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets. It wasn't his fault that Rei ran away…he could just explain that to the teacher with hope of no suspension. Then again, she would probably go ahead and think he shoved him into a locker somewhere. Finding him wouldn't be too hard either, his costume stuck out like a sore thumb.

Approaching the staircase, something caught his eye. Something he didn't like. Neon.

* * *

Rei 'hmphed', standing there listening to him was the last thing he felt like doing. He made his way to the other end of the hall, and then frowned, noticing he was going the wrong way after all. 

Kai surely wasn't making much of an impression towards him. He hoped there wouldn't be any more people like him around and that he would make at least one normal friend. Turning his back and taking the other way to the staircase, he twisted on his heels, ponytail swinging. All the way, people were eying him the way Kai did. Not a 'who is he?' glance, but more of a 'what the hell is he doing here?' glance. He hated. In fact, there were a lot of things he was beginning to hate around here. More than in China.

Now in another hall, a group of students gathered around a potential scene that was blocked from his view. That spiking his curiosity, he took a quicker pace and fiddled his way through the crowd. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"P-please don't hurt me!" The smaller, blonde boy pleaded, his large blue eyes coated in fear. Kai just smirked, holding his collar up higher.

"What did I tell you about that shirt, Maxie?" Max was shuddering from head to toe.

"I-I don't know!" Kai's grip tightening forced him to change answers. "Not to wear it?"

"Exactly." His voice was dripping in venom. And trust Max, his bite was for worse than his bark. And no, that wasn't an incorrect saying. "Now get out of my sight before history repeats itself, I'm in a very bad mood today."

Rei was appalled. Never in his life had he seen such a sad turn of events. No one was even willing to help the poor boy. Some were even smiling and laughing! Was this some sort of trend? If it was, it was disgusting. As Kai raised his fist and approached Max's face, Rei's eyes widened and he decided he couldn't watch anymore.

"Stop! What are you doing!" Rei ran to the the boy's aid, the narrowing of his eyes showing he didn't look happy. However, it did make him look very feline. "This is terrible!" He faced the crowd. "How could you just watch like that? This isn't entertainment! This is bullying!"

Kai dropped Max and glared at Rei. Shrugging, he walked away, acting like nothing happened. This angered Rei even more.

"Hey? Where do you think you're going?" Moments after, they all left the same way Kai did, leaving Max and Rei alone.

"Aw, come on, show's over. Let's leave Maxie here to this mama's boy."

Rei ignored their comments and turned to the shaken freshman. Every time Rei approached, he flinched, this giving him a feeling that this wasn't a first-time thing. Crouching over and helping him up, Rei smiled sweetly, hoping it would help Max get over it. He smiled back, feeling relieved.

"Thank you so much!"

"Anytime…Max is it?" He nodded; his mop of yellow bouncing up and down. "And I'm Rei."

"Hey, Rei! Anyways, I have to go. Is it your first day here too?"

"Yup, but that's because I'm an exchange student. Tell me, does Kai do this often?" Max's eyes traveled down to the floor.

"At least twice a week…" Rei narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms.

"I guess I'm gonna have to have a word with him."

"Good luck!" Max waved and hopped back down the hall.

Rei shook his head, Max seemed to be pretty hyper for a kid his age. One thing at a time. After class, he was going to discuss this with Kai. Things like this weren't supposed to happen, not while he was around. For now, he had to survive history.

* * *

School that day was boring enough. Other than his occasional encounters with a certain student, Kai was doing well for someone who just came back from suspension. Since they didn't share their last classes together, Kai was instructed to go find Rei waiting for him in front of his class once he was dismissed. Then he had to show him where the pickups were made. Well…things didn't go exactly as planned. As a matter of fact, they didn't go at all as planned. 

As Kai was strolling through the halls, expecting to find the neko-jin standing in front of the door to class 203, he found himself touring the school at least twice with no luck. He figured perhaps he had found his way on his own. He had no problem with that, Rei wasn't a baby.

Putting everything into his backpack, he took his time walking home. It was raining outside. Kai hadn't taken an umbrella; his house wasn't that far from home. His hands still in his pockets, he focused his stare (or glare, for him there really was no difference) to the grey sky, dark clouds rolling above. The only sound he could hear were those the wheels of the cars made once they splashed in the puddles. It hadn't even once crossed his mind how quickly it had switched from benign to wet weather in such a short amount of time. When he had left, it was so bright outside and now it looked like someone up there really hated him.

Kai was too tired to take out his skateboard. Yet now, it all of a sudden looked like he was the only one on the street and it was beginning to get cold, not to mention himself being drenched all over. Once his home came up in view, he sprinted to the front steps and rang the doorbell, stomping his feet. His mom opened the door, concern washed all over her face.

"Oh, Kai, look at you! You're soaked! Are you going to be okay?" She hugged him close but when he shook his head he got water all over her, forcing her to pull back.

"No, I'm fine, I just want to-" He sneezed. "Get some rest." His sisters jumped up and down.

"Are you alright, Kai?" Christine asked.

"Yeah, are you alright?" Her twin, Monica, repeated after her. He nodded but they found that hard to believe since he sneezed right after.

Kai grabbed his coat and hung it over his shoulders, after pushing his mom away.

"Am I missing something?"

Kai's ears twitched at the unknown voice coming from the top of the staircase. There, in his home, was none other than the neko-jin that had caused him all that trouble earlier that day. Rei…who was yawning and rubbing his eyes…and wearing Kai's PJs.

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Friction

Title: Proxy

Author: Ghetto fabulous

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Chapter: 2

* * *

**Friction  
**  
Kai just stood there, confused and maybe even a little freaked out at the sight that lay before him. His mother smiled. 

"Stellar! You've met! I'll get dinner ready."

Funny, mom was never that enthusiastic, Kai thought as he watched his sisters bounce up and down in front of him. Everyone was a bit off the edge today and it was getting to him. They never were this excited when he got home. His mom stuck her head back in the lobby.

"Sit down, boys. Get to know each other a bit. I'll be with you in a sec!" She skipped into the kitchen. Okay, now something was definitely going wrong. She was wearing her "Kiss the cook" apron she only wore at barbeques and get-togethers.

'Not like I'd ever want to.' He retorted under his breath so no one could hear.

As if Rei wasn't there, he strode towards the sofa and passed him by, making sure not to look at him but feeling his strong, golden gaze keeping intact behind him. Not like he cared or anything.

Kai settled himself onto the couch on the other side of the living room. For a moment, all they could do was glare, Kai wanting him to have his own life and Rei wondering whatever the heck his problem was. Christine and Monica broke the death-like silence. The hopped simultaneously onto Rei's lap, making Kai burn with anger. All it took was one more push to get Kai into physical vendetta and all over him as well.

"Kai! Kai! Rei was just reading us stories! He's so good at it too! He read us Aladdin and The Three Little Pigs and-" Her twin finished for her.

"And Snow-White!" She giggled and clapped her hands together repeatedly, "Did you know she didn't really die at all? She was cast under a spell!" Kai grimaced. It struck him as peculiar how he had made it home fast enough to read all that.

"I read that one to you already...several times..." Rei thought he almost heard him growl.

"Yeah, but Rei reads it better. Right, Monica?" She nodded. "He makes the characters sound like they're actually happy and makes it all feel so real..." She hugged Rei and tugged at his bangs; he winced and gently pried her hand off. Even he didn't like where this was going. He expected an outburst of some sort but was greeted with something much worse.

"That's it!" He got off and ran to the couch Rei was on. Monica squealed and ran to get her mom. Christine stood and watched, wide-eyed.

Instinctively, the raven-haired neko-jin pounced out of the way. Before they knew it, they were rolling over and over each other grabbing at whatever they could and letting out grunts of frustration.

"What- are- you- doing?" Rei breathed, still not completely clear with his sudden assault.

"Get- out- of- my- life-!" Kai hissed back, making sure not to let his glare meet anything but Rei's own. Their fingers were intertwined and they desperately tried pushing each other off the ground but failed miserably. They both mentally counted to three and let go, each falling onto their sides in the middle of the carpet. They both stood up and Rei dusted himself, careful not to lose contact with the flames burning in Kai's eyes, his returning the motion.

Kai took a step forward but Rei was not intimidated at the least. He wanted to know just what exactly this guy was trying to prove. There must have been something he wasn't following, and he wanted to know it. Kai wasn't much of a bad fighter, either.

The slate-haired Hiwatari lifted his fist, about to strike. He gave this guy all he had got. Still, no sign of fatigue appeared obvious on his face. He had journeyed to find what Rei was made of and came back empty-handed, but things came with time. No, he was wrong, the journey hadn't even begun.

Kai resumed his current intention to wham Rei in the face but his mom carefully stepping into the room stopped him. Monica stood protectively at her side, sticking her tongue out at Kai. This guy had even taken his sisters away from him. His mom folded her arms.

"Now just what is going on here?" This was the mom Kai recognized. "Monica here tells me you were fighting. Is this true?" Kai opened his mouth to speak but Rei beat him at it.

"Um, permission to speak, if I may..." He flashed a sweet smile and she was completely taken over. This boy was very well disciplined and really respected his elders. She glared at Kai with her garnet eyes; identical to his own and he gladly returned it. Kind of like the way she wished some people would be.

"Permission granted. Rei, dear, you don't have to talk like that here, we're all family." Those words stung Kai. Rei was only staying for a semester because of a special traveling program for credit; he didn't need to be promoted that high. They were completely fine as just him, his mother and sisters. What business did he have here? He rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hiwatari. Kai was just showing me his 'rad' spiky bracelet over here. Isn't that right, pal?" Kai shot him an inquiring look but Rei had responded with one that said 'We'll settle this later'. His mom didn't need to know about anything. Kai chuckled nervously.

"'Pal', huh? How cute, you're already friends! Wonderful!" She put on her euphoric face again, making her resemble the twins. "Now let's all get into the dining room and eat."

They followed her into the kitchen which was conveniently located right beside them. The house was much larger than the kind Rei had ever been in. Wallpaper with fruit patterns on them accompanied them through the kitchen out onto the other side where a large table sat.

Everything was already set and Mrs. Hiwatari placed the utensils on their plates as they pulled up their chairs and sat down. Kai personally chose the seat that lay opposite to Rei's, it being as far as he could possibly get from the neko-jin.

For a while, they hungrily ate their meal, the girls briefly explaining their day at school and their mom listening and commenting politely. Rei was first to finish and returned the look Kai had been giving him the entire time mockingly, Kai not being too impressed. After watching Rei leave the room, Kai stood up.

"Mom, why is he," He pointed to the nearly parted figure, "Wearing my PJs?" His mom shrugged.

"He's had a long night, traveling overseas. Poor guy had forgotten his own and was exhausted."

"Wait, wait. So you're letting him keep it?" She nodded while collecting the twin's plates.

"Sure, you live here; you can always get another pair. Stop being so possessive and assume your role as host to him. You should've seen him; he could barely keep his eyes open!"

"Judging by our day at school, I find that hard to believe" He muttered.

"Run that by me again?" But Kai didn't respond. He stalked up the stairs, determined to teach Rei a lesson or two.

He made it onto the second floor, looking from side to side, wondering where Rei could possibly be. What a chicken, he thought, running out on me. He grinned mentally, remembering that the only place Rei would be in was the guest room.

Running on the wooden floors he slid in front of the designated room. Hoping to surprise him, he swung the door open, expecting to find the neko- jin staring at him in shock. Instead, he came to see Rei asleep on the bed, his mane of hair now released from their rubber bondage. His raven strands were sprawled on the sheets, transcending down from pillow. Kai swore he might have heard him purr. Strange.

"Fine. I can play by your game. Don't expect this to be over, Kon." He whispered, "I'll be waiting..." And with that, Kai left the room, closing the door shut.

Rei kept his eyes shut until he heard the last of the footsteps down the hall. Opening them, he sighed in relief. That was too easy. He also wanted a piece of Kai...but that could wait. That was his last thought before pulling up his sheets, and going to bed...this time for real.

* * *

Kai groaned in bed and switched from side to side, even though it wasn't helpful. He finally sat up and broke into a coughing fit. His breath felt a whole lot heavier and it shook his whole frame. The air coming in and out of his body seemed to be taking a winding road down to his lungs, instead of the perfectly straight ones they took before. Kai's head felt light and woozy and he couldn't concentrate on a single object before him. He had the flu. 

No problem, he thought, I'll be able to hide it before mom even notices it. Turning to the other side of his bed, he found himself staring directly into his mom's eyes, completely miserable and covered in worry. He cursed mentally when he quickly found his two sisters at her sides...and Rei behind her.

"Oh, Kai! I knew you shouldn't have been walking in the rain yesterday!" She placed her palm against his forehead.

"No mom, really, I'm fine!" His raspy voice left her completely incredulous.

"Are you kidding? I could hear your coughing from all the way downstairs! I'll have to arrange something with your doctor..."

"No, mom. Really, it's okay...after school..." His mom gasped.

"School? What makes you think you're going to school? That's absurd, Kai don't even think about school...you need your rest!"

"But mom-"

"But nothing. Rei knows his way now...and he'll fetch your homework. Now go to bed." Just then, an idea dawned on him. A pretty obvious one at that. He gave a stealthy grin, but his mom didn't notice. All she could see right now were the bags under his eyes and all she heard was his cough.

Just as she ran off to grab a thermometer, Rei smirked at him and whispered, "Don't worry, you won't get out of this just because you claim you're sick...I know what you're up to." Kai was furious and if it weren't for his current state, he'd be on Rei like he was before. It was like this had been meant to happen; Rei seemed to be taking advantage of it well.

After his mom had taken his temperature, she ran off too get the twins ready and Rei had already left. She kissed him on the forehead (he was too ill to react) and pulled on her raincoat, before grabbing the twins and running off to work. He smiled and waved at her, and carefully watched as the last of the car pulled out of the driveway. He smirked.

"Oh, hell no, not today." After changing into his uniform, he slid out of the door, making sure he had a coat and an umbrella this time.

I already missed homeroom, he thought, I might as well take my time and miss half of math. Kai twirled his umbrella and skipped into the puddles like a child. Even though he would never admit it, he loved the rain and never stopped getting wet.

* * *

The teacher switched her gaze from her fingernails to Rei's face. He blinked. 

"Rei, would you know by any chance where your companion is? He's late." Sighing, he stared at the window, about to respond when something stopped him. He could see Kai's drenched figure enter the school, this making him widen his eyes but he managed not to gasp.

"Are you okay? It looks like you've seen a ghost..." He shook his head.

"No, it's just...really wet outside...Kai is sick today." She nodded and checked him off the list.

"Okay, you are dismissed." The sounds of chairs screeching soon filled the room. Rei grabbed his things and left the room with Kenny and Tala.

Soon after, it was time for lunch and the three were sauntering down to the cafeteria, along with Max and a friend of his with wild blue hair in a ponytail tucked under his cap (bending school rules). The teachers and principal were so familiar with him and his mischief they didn't really bother. Most of them watched him and sighed, muttering "Good 'ol Tyson's at it again..." Max laughed.

"And then Tyson went 'I'm sorry Miss, but I ate my dog's homework...' " He began to laugh some more. "And Ms. Fitzhue looked like she would explode!" The four joined him in chorus.

Tyson grinned proudly, arms behind his head as he walked. It was known that he won the award for best prankster...several times. His nostrils twitched as they approached their destination.

"Awesome! Pizza!" He quickened his pace, the other boys in undertow. They ceased to argue with him since it probably was pizza; Tyson never mistook the scent of food...it was like an instinct. He patted his belly.

Max sighed in relief at the new sense of freedom. This was normally the time of day Kai would grab him by the front of his collar and shove him into a random locker. If only he was absent everyday...then he would become used to this sensation. He glanced at Rei in admiration. Rei was so brave...he could stand up to him and Kai would back down so easily. He was so glad that he was there. It was like all the tension and uncertainty had dissolved. He loved it.

Rei caught him staring and arched a brow...Max grinned back sheepishly and the neko-jin sweat-dropped and waved back, not quite sure what had happened. Max proudly wore his neon shirt today without fear of it being torn up or thrown (along with the rest of him) into a trash can.

* * *

Kai breathed heavily as he slipped out of his soaking jacket and hung it in his locker. He grinned as he realized he was just in time for lunch, already missing two classes. Just as quickly, he remembered the science test that he had not studied for was directly after lunch. He groaned, desperate to find something to glare at or stare down. 

He hastily made his way to the cafeteria while calculating the change within his palms. Suddenly, he could feel the strange rumbling in his chest and his breath cut short, his breath was reduced to a wheeze and he let out a whooping cough that rang through the halls and made people jump. He cursed out loud and leaned against a locker, clutching the front of his shirt and panting, getting strange looks out of students passing by. Oh, how he wished he could punch them. He had just enough strength to tell them off but was glad there was no teacher around. The least thing he needed was letting a fretting adult take care of the situation.

Sighing as his wave of dizziness washed away, he decided lunch would be over soon and walked until the two doors came in view. Weakly pulling them apart, he stepped in, greeted with the loud chatter of students...everywhere. It was so relatively quiet in the hall compared to the cafeteria...the loudness making his head pound. It surprised him that his body wasn't as immune as he thought when it came to catching sickness, right now, he felt like he was crossing the thin line that kept him conscious.

Maneuvering through the crowds of people, he stood in line, staring at the menu and making a selection as he waited. Switching his view, he eyed the room blankly, eyes falling against something familiar. Something he didn't like. One (miraculously) empty table, with a few people on the other side, he recognized the party as Tala, Kenny, Rei (he glared at the realization), Max and his blue-haired friend he didn't bother to know but hated equally.

They all sat and conversed happily, apparently friends but he didn't understand why Rei was with them. They didn't like him, did they? That's how it seemed at the moment. Kai could hear them laugh as Tyson made a few comments and it was as that point he caught Max's worried stare. He blocked it with his common 'expect more from me later' glare he often gave but frowned as he realized it didn't affect him. Not like it did before. Could it be Max wasn't a wuss anymore? Nah, impossible. It was surprising how much he missed being sick for half a day.

Curious, he straightened himself and strode towards their table, Tala being the first to notice and waving. He was immediately joined by his companions, Rei crossing his arms and grunting. Max was staring at him straight in the face without squirming like he normally did and that irritated him. It was then that he figured out that Rei's presence made him feel secure, judging by how he defended him the last time. His current condition kept him from jumping anyone the way they did before. The other boys blinked.

"Coming for more?" Rei inquired coolly. Kenny, Tala, Max and Tyson had no idea about the personal vendetta between the two.

"Are you asking for some?" He snapped. Rei just shook his head.

"Poor, poor Kai. He's sick and can't admit the fact that he can't fight in his condition. I refuse to knock any ill weakling senseless. Don't act like you have a chance, it makes you look pathetic." Kai could feel heat coming up to his face. Instead of swarming his cheeks, it felt more like it was coming out from his eyes eager to match those of Rei, now officially his rival. Their friends could felt the tension ad tried breaking them up but, alas, the war had begun. A war in which they had no control.

Flames of rage began growing and licking every part of his body, making him feel hotter and hotter until he felt dizzy. His face was now visibly red and his mind felt weightless, barely being able to scrutinize the the faces of the boys in front of him. He would lean over and there was nothing he could do; his entire body was numb and he had lost control. Groaning, Kai limped once fell forward, unconscious.

"Kai...Kai!"

**To Be Continued...**


	3. On Court, Off Court

Title: Proxy

Author: Ghetto fabulous

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Chapter: 3

* * *

**On Court, Off Court**

"Are you insane?" Mrs. Hiwatari exclaimed, while reading the temperature on the thermometer, but not earning a response from her ignorant son. Instead, Kai had been glaring out the window, finding but another rainfall. Blasted water was what got him into this in the first place. Oh how he wished he wasn't there!

"I trusted you Kai, and I come home hearing you fainted at school! How do you expect I felt…?" She went on. Of course, he was valuing what she was saying- he wasn't that ignorant- but he already knew what she would say. He was in no position to fight, either.

He tried to remain conscious, albeit his constant trips back and forth from the reality of his infuriated mother, to the surreal darkness he'd rather stay with. His mom seemed so angry that she didn't realize he hadn't caught a word she said. Yawning silently, his steered his view to the slanted figure by the window. Rei too had been gazing at the rain. Longingly? Miserably? Proudly? He really couldn't tell, yet it was all the same for him.

The twins were put to bed long ago so it was oddly quiet, only making the rambling of his mother sound louder, juxtaposed to his now occasional wheeze and/or cough…and Rei's fatigued breathing. His mom had urged to him to sleep, but he pleaded to remain there by the window. Kai had originally thought it was to gain the satisfaction of hearing his chastisement, but he found no smirk. All this was making him feel awkward…but not as awkward as he had felt earlier…

Once he had fainted, he first regained consciousness in the infirmary, surrounded by only his friends,-Rei and his soon-arrived mother, but he could just barely see students gawking at him from the window. They were pointing and staring (he had never fainted before…and they were amazed Kai didn't have enough strength to shove the nurse away) and some were snickering. Funny…Rei didn't seem so happy. In fact, you might say he even looked somewhat worried. Probably just because his mom was around. Even Max and Tyson were concerned…and Kai treated them like dirt…making their very existence seem futile. Come to think of it…Kai didn't remember them ever being mean to him…was he really such an ass? Kai shook away the idea…all this illness was changing his train of thought.

Fortunately, he felt much better, and according to his schedule, he had Phys. Ed. Tomorrow and they were doing basketball. His favorite sport of all time. He loved everything about it, the rules, the game, the moves, the way his feet sounded as he pounded the ball up and down the court…he was completely in love with the rubbery grip his fingers had when they met with the bumpy texture of the ball. He would give anything to play a nice game of b-ball against Rei…maybe that would show him…the chances are he never even played! It was brilliant!

* * *

Minutes seemed to go by like hours and the lonely, monotonous tapping of the rain was beginning to lull him. Rei's head started to faintly bob up and down as he would drift off momentarily then wake himself up, waiting for Kai's mom's lengthy speech to end. 

It was also raining the day Rei left his country…though it seemed to give and even more miserable effect to his mood and those of everyone who was bidding him farewell. He couldn't tell if those were tears or drops of rain rolling off the faces of his friends and family, and the stormy weather was all he could really look at during his boat ride. He remembered his beloved pink-haired girlfriend Mariah, holding onto him and sobbing, pleading him not to go. It was the most painful day if his life…but he had to go. He needed the education…and it would help him better the schools in his village. The departure was for all of them. Yet now he was inside a prosperous city, went to a thriving high school and made good friends, and all he could come to think of was that fateful day. He had reason to.

Goodness knew how hard it was to find the opening; Rei had spent weeks traveling back and forth from the market town nearby to find articles, posters, anything. One fateful day, his tired eyes, just before calling it quits and going home, had once more scanned the entire page and immediately stuck to it. The one. The one he needed to finally stop his tedious searching and get him here. He had spent the rest of the night at the village temple, thanking the spirits and giving offerings. Rei had never felt so lucky.

There he was again, drifting off into things he tried desperately to put behind him. Then again, it was probably his major tendency: never letting things go. By then, Kai was already asleep and his mom was ruffling his hair gently. Cute. When he tried to look out the window, he (just) realized it was pitch black out and a small photo laid against the sill caught his eye.

It was a slightly faded image; Rei could make out the young boy as Kai who (surprisingly) was grinning widely and clutching the side of a man's pants. Wait…man? He had a feeling who the man was, judging by how he had silver hair and Kai's mom (who was at his side) didn't. That explained the combination. The man was most definitely Kai's father…but Rei had yet to see him…he wondered why. Both the twins in the picture were infants and nestled snugly each in one of Mrs.Hiwatari's arms. The family seemed happy together; Mr. Hiwatari was doing the peace sign and his wife, whose arms were both occupied, made it look like she was kicking Kai from behind. The photo in whole was pretty interesting…yet throughout all the photos on the walls in the house, it was the sole one to have someone other than Kai, his mom and sisters in it. Peculiar…

* * *

"Dammit, I'm late!" Kai swore out loud and knocked down the alarm clock…even though it wasn't ringing. Something told him that Rei was already out to school and his mom had already left. This, of course, was all too true. 

At this point, he expected a cough, a wheeze, maybe even a sneeze but nothing came. If it weren't for his belated state, this would have made him content but it didn't…Kai decided to skip brushing and headed straight to the showers. After tossing his clothes to the side, he climbed in.

Inside, he grabbed a nearby bar of "Irish Springs" and flicked on the shower. The knobs were set to warm water by default but something was wrong…very wrong. For a moment, no water came…and then all at once, a huge blast of ice cold water burst out into his face. He was confused…and needed to blame someone before angering himself. He tried to find some logic…cold water equals used up hot water. Used up hot water equals long shower. Long shower possibly from rinsing out long hair. Long hair equaled…Rei. Flames started to lick the insides of Kai's pupils once more.

"_Damn you, Rei_!" He took the liberty of screaming through large mouthfuls of freezing water. Oh, things weren't going to be pretty…

About ten minutes later, Kai managed to survive the entire shower in cold water…he was Kai after all, but the neko-jin had finished up the shampoo, leaving him with the sole option of using women's conditioner…yes, that's right, _women's_ conditioner. He walked around; carrying that toxic smell and his hair had become limp over his face with a sleek finish…similar to those of the women in L'Oréal commercials. It made him resemble a female more than ever imaginable. If anyone brought that up, they should prepare for some pain. Lots of it.

Kai became bold and even skipped breakfast (not a very good idea mood-wise) and had rushed outside…in fact, he was in such a rush, he forgot his skateboard. By the time he made into school, he ran up the steps and attempted to pry the doors open, but they wouldn't budge. Simultaneously, the janitor walked by on the other side, his keys jingling. Kai's ears picked up the sound so he took in a deep breath and pleaded.

"Dai…**Dai**?" He called out, knowing for sure the old man would reply. The footsteps stopped.

"Whaddaya want now, kid? The raspy voice yelled back. Kai mouthed out the word 'please' and got down on his knees, sending him a look that said 'I'll owe you back'. The man caught this and relented.

"Okay, just this once…but you owe me big time, kid. I'm sure the principal's gotten to you about coming during school hours. If she catches me doing this, the board'll haul my ass outta here." Kai grinned appreciatively and ran inside.

"Oh, and keep the look, it…shows another 'side' to ya…" He cooed, following a laugh and a purr.

Kai would yell out a threat, but he had no time. By the time he slipped his things into his locker and slid into math, the bell had rung and people walked past him, snorting. The strange aroma filtered into the class and once everyone noticed that it was coming from him, sending him mock seductive looks. Whatever happened to the respect and fear he had was no longer there, and if Rei had been in that class, Kai would have most likely hung him, but for both their sakes, he was already in the gymnasium, ready for P.E.

When Kai had changed into his shorts and shirt, he entered the gym and proceeded to do warm ups with the other boys. His teacher had spotted him. And with his feminine mane, who couldn't?

"Ready to join us, Kai?" He said, evidently trying to get everyone to notice him. Winks were shot at him from across the gym. Rei's face grew red from stifling laughter. Kai was the official news of the class.

"As you know, we'll be starting our unit on Basketball this week." His teacher informed, but paused until the cheering was over. Their school was big on basketball. "I'm guessing you all know how to play?" Mr. Mathers asked, Kai expecting Rei to object. He didn't. "Well then I suggest skipping drills and starting with scrimmages."

Kai had been waiting for this for quite some time. Rei had messed up his day from the moment it started, and now it was his turn to put him in place. In front of everybody. This was his turf now.

His teacher had divided them into two groups for scrimmaging. The 'Reds' and 'Blues'. By a single thread of chance, both Kai and Rei were put on the Blue team. Rei didn't seem to care much, yet Kai was so devastated, he practically begged the teacher to switch him, but, as most students tend to repeat, what Mathers says, goes.

Now that they had decided on teams, the boys positioned themselves on the wooden court, waiting for the whistle to blow and the two Centers to go for the ball.

It blew.

* * *

The first quarter of the game dawned on them so quickly that it made Rei feel strangely akward. Almost immediately, the players were sprawled across the court and he, playing post, ran the side of the key, as Tala ran in with a breakaway. Tyson tried to block him as he was going for a lay-up, but he failed. The ball slipped from his finger and bounced against the rim, so Kai ran in and grabbed the rebound. This was Rei's chance. 

"Kai! Pass!" He shouted, but his teammate merely grunted and attempted a lay-up himself. As Rei was dodging. Tyson, he slowly watched the ball fall in through the mesh.

He ran to Kai, hoping to high-five him but Kai ducked his hand. And he shrugged. They ran back to their side of the court and blocked their 'men' and Rei did a sufficient job of intercepting Tyson's pass to Kenny. As soon as the ball touched his fingers, he stormed off their zone, his teammates in tow. Kenny came up and trapped him, sheltering him with his arms, and Rei was too scared to pivot, since he'd end up knocking Kenny down while doing so, causing a fowl. He cursed and gritted his teeth. The only screen-setter available was Kai and well…that was pretty much enough a reason.

He slowly backed up while dribbling; only to see that Kenny's arm couldn't reach as far. To his astonishment, Kai was planted behind him, arms crossed against his chest. He blinked.

"Why are you-"

"Just go!" He chided, and watched as he dribbled off.

Kai followed up behind him and as he approached the net, he waited in outside the key. Rei stopped and passed it to him. Kai sent him a bemused look and Rei smiled. What is he on? He mused.

To the neko-jin's surprise, Kai ran back to half-court and smirked, giving Tala the signal and launching their invented play into effect. Tala ran beside him and caught the pass Kai sent him without looking. He paused and faked a long-distance pass to Rei, then dropping it behind him, where Kai received it and motioned with his head for Rei to move to the right. He threw the ball baseball-style in his direction.

As the ball soared through the heated air above them, Kai, being at a distance, could only watch as the neko-jin pounced into the air, grabbing it and halting its short journey. Averting the many hands seeking for it, he cradled the ball with his back, maroon eyes searching for a small exit to bounce-pass it from. He wondered why Rei was being so much nicer to him, was it because he was desperate for victory or did Rei really mean it?

Kai saw this and quickly ran past the many players and positioned himself to Rei's left calling for the ball. Rei quickly tossed it his way, riskily throwing over the opposite team. Kai leapt and caught it and before anyone on the other team could rush and make a barrier around him, he shot it towards the net, now leaving fate to give it entry. Rei watched impatiently as the basketball circled the rim once...twice and out it came. He had to get the rebound; the entire game depended on it. Rapidly sprinting towards it, he jumped, unaware of Kai leaping into the same direction. Unable to switch momentum in mid-air, the two bodies collapsed straight into each other.

**CRASH**

They both fell swiftly and painfully onto the court under them.

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
